Zinc-retort cleaner



June 2, 1925. V 7 1,540,636

s. KOVACEVIC zmc RETORT' CLEANER ori inal Filed July 25. 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 1 njlfvrer rr/r', l vEu-ron June 2 1925. v I 1,540,636

5. KovAcEvlc ZINC RETORT CLEANER Original Filed July 25, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 2 66 F/C'Li A TTORN EY June 2, 1925. y

s. KOVACEVIC ZINC RETORT CLEANER 4 Sheets-Sheet Original Filed July 25,1923 ATTORNEY Original Filed July 25. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Vj/TaVdCey/d) INVENTOR w 48% mub ATTORNEY cured cntheendsof thesePatented June 2, 1925.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE,

ZINC-RETOR-T GLEANER.

Application filed July 25, 1923, Serial no. cssfis".

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STE AN KovAenvIo, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Zinc-RetortCleaners, of Which the following is a specification.

'lhis-invention relates to means for cleaning out retorts, and moreparticularly to What 1 term a Zinc retort cleaner. r

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a inachineofcomparatively simple construction a and operation which will act toquickly and effectually clean out the tubes of zinc retorts and similarstruc tures. A further object is to rovide, a machine of thischaracterwhich maybe readily manipulated by a single operator and can be quicklyand easily moved into position for cleaning, out the retort tubes! Afurther object is to provide simple and eflicient means for adjusting.the cleaning and scraping, members. Further objects will appear from thedetail description;

In the drawings I I Fig.ure 1 is a top plan view of the cleaner;

Figure 2 is-a transverse sectional view;

Figure 3 is aside View partly broken y;

Figure 4 is a. diagrammatic view of the means for. supplying air to thevarious cylinders i F'gure 5v is a fragmentary top plan view of one ofthe blocks and associated partsfor operating the shovels;

Figure dis a fragmentary top plan View of the cross-head and associatedparts for operating: the scrapers; v

Figure 7 is a front view of the machine.

My cleaner is intended to be used in con nectionvyvith. zinc retprts ofa known type in which the ore is placed in inclined tubes arranged in aplurality of vertical series, these tubes opening ontoatrackwhichextends parallel with thefront of the furnace or retort, thistrack providing means for adjusting'or feeding the cleaner along theretort. I

The cleaner includes-a main supporting frame-1 constructed and bracedain any suitable manner. Shafts or axles 2 and 3 are rotatably mounted inframe 1 at the front and back: thereof, Wheels ibeing seaxles, theseRenewed April 18 1925.

Wheels being"; adapted to tra erupcn. the rails of a track extendingparallel. with and adjacent to the retort to be.cleanedl A gear5 issecured on axle 8'. and meshes with a pinion 6 secured on the armatureshaft of an electric motor 7 supported above and adjacent to aXle 3,.Current is suppliedto this motor in any suitableor preferred man: nerthis providing simple and efficient means whereby main frame 1 may bemoved in either direction along the track.

A movable frame 8 is mounted tra ns versely of the main supporting frame1', frame. 8 extending between uprights 9 which extendifrom each corner.of main sup porting frame 1. Screw bars 10 are mounted in uprights 9 andthreaded through sleeves 10 secured to. frame 8, the lower ends of thesebars being seated in bearing blocks'll secured in the lower endsof theuprights. The upper ends of the'uprights 9 are connected by arectangular top brace frame 12 and'the bars 10 pass through this frame.Bevel gears 13 are secured on the upper ends of rods 10 and-mesh/Withbevel pinio'ns 14 secured on the ends of counter shafts 15 rotatablysupported in bearing brackets 16 secured to top frame 12 A gear 17 issecured on one of the shafts 15 and meshes Wlth-a pinion 18 secured onthe armature shaft of an electric motor 19 mounted on frame 12, cur-rentbeing supplied to' thismotor in any suitable or preferred manner. Thisprovides simple and efficient means whereb the frame 8 may be readilyadjusted vertically between uprights 9 of the main supportingframe 1Blocks 20 are slidably mounted, by means of tongue and grooveconnections, in guide members 21 of approximatelysemi-circularcross-section, these members being support ed by brackets22in parallelismwith and arranged longitudinallyof the movable frame 8.A gear member or quadrant 23 is secured to each guide member 21 and isengaged by a Worm 24 of a Wormshaft. 25 rotatably mounted in bearingblocks 26. A bevel gear 27 is securedon. shaft 25 and meshes with abevel gear 28 secured on an adjusting shaft 29 rotatably r'nountedlongitudinally of frame L the rearward end of adjusting shaft 29 I-providea. verti cally extending rod 30 on the upper endof whicl'rissecured a crank 31 thisrod being operatively. connected; at its lowerend, to

shaft 29 by mitre earing. 32. The crank 31 is preferably positionedadjacent to an operators chair or seat 33 secured upon a bridge 34 whichextends transversely of frame 1. This bridge also supports a controlboard 35 upon which are mounted suitable switches, valves, etc., forcontrolling the operation of the machine in a manner to be described. Byturning rod 30, by means of crank 31, guide members 21 may be turned intheir supporting brackets 22 for adjusting the blocks 20 relative to thehorizontal. A shovel 36 is connected to each block 20 by means of ashank 37 extending rearwardly from the head or scoop portion-of theshovel, this shank being pivotally secured at its rearward end, betweentwo spaced ears 38 extending forwardly from block 20. Shank 37 issupported upon a grooved roller 39 mounted in a rectangular frame 40provided at the lower end of each side bar with an extension 41 slidablethrough a transverse brace strip 42 which connects the forwardportions'of lower side strips 43 of frame 8. The frame 40 is connected,at its upper end, at 44, to an arm 45 secured on a shaft 46 rockablymounted in uprights 47 secured to the sides of frame 8 at the forwardend thereof. An arm 48 is secured on shaft 46 between arms 45 and ispivotally secured, at 49, to the forward end of a pitman 50 the rearwardend of which is pivotally secured at 51 to a piston rod 52 secured to apiston operating in a cylinder 53 mounted upon a cross strip 54 securedto the upper side strips 55 of frame 8. By admitting pressure fluid,such as compressed air. to cylinder 53 so as to move the piston withinthe cylinder in proper direction frame 40 may be readily raised orlowered so as to vary the slant or inclination of the shovel 36 asdesired. Block 20 is connected by a pitman 56 to the forward .end of apiston rod 57 secured through a piston (not shown) operating in acylinder 58. By supplying compressed air to this cylinder at one endthereof and exhausting the air from the other end of the cylinder, thepiston, and consequently piston rod 57 may be adjusted in eitherdirection desired thus projecting or retracting the shovel 36 asrequired. This provides simple and efficient means whereby theinclination of the shovel may be readily adjusted and the shovel can beprojected or retracted as circumstances may require.

A scraper 59 is provided above shovel 36, this scraper being ofapproximately circular outline and hinged at 60 to a pitman rod 61 whichis pivoted at 62 to piston rod 63 which is secured through a piston (notshown), operating in a cylinder 64 mounted on a cross-head 65 slidablymounted'on support and guide strips 66 supported by brackets 67 securedto frame 8. Cross-head 65 is connected to a piston rod 68 securedthrough a piston operating in a cylinder 69 mounted on the rearwardportion of frame 8, suitable means being provided for admitting compressed air to the cylinder at either end thereof and exhausting airfrom the other end of the cylinder. Scraper-59 is provided with adepending lug 70 which is pivotally secured at 71 to an operating rod 72which is pivotally secured at its rearward end. at 73, to cross-head 65.As will be understood, 1 provide suitable means for admitting air tocylinder 64 at either end thereof and .ex-

hausting air from the other end of the cylinder for the purpose ofprojecting or retracting pitman 61 so as to adjust scraper 59 aboutpivot point 71. Rod 7 2 rests upon a roller 73 mounted in frame 40 aboveroller 39 so that by adjusting the frame the inclination of rod 72 isvaried as desired. This provides very simple and efiicient means wherebythe scraper can be projected and retracted and can also have itsinclination varied and can be adjusted relative to the horizontal tosuit circumstances.

As will be understood, any suitable or preferred means may be employedfor operating the pistons in the various cylinders. In Figure 4 I haveindicated diagrammatically one arrangement whereby compressed air can besupplied to either end 'of any of the cylinders. selectively. andexhausted from the other end thereof. This means includes a compressedair supply hose 74 which supplies air under pressure to a. manifold 75positioned adjacent to control board 35.

Manifold 75 communicates with valve caslngs in which are mountedthree-way valves 76. Pipes 77 extend from the casings of the respectivevalves and communicate with the ends of the respective cylinders sothat, by turning any of the valves 76, selectively. in proper direction,compressed air may be admitted to one end of the cylinder controlled bythat particular valve. and the air exhausted from the otherv end of thecylinder.

For supplying current to the motors 7 and 19 I provide an electric cable78 which may be connected to any suitable source of electrical energy,this cable extending to the control board 35 on which is mounted twoswitches 79 of any suitable or preferred type, one of these switchesbeing connected by a wire 80 to a resilient contact arm 81 secured onframe 8, this arm pressing against a contact strip 32 secured on one ofthe uprights 9. which strip is connected to one pole of motor 19 theother pole of which maybe grounded in any suitable or preferred manneras through frame 1. The other switch 79 is connected by a cord 83 to aresilient contact arm 84 similar to arm 81. arm 84- being also carriedby frame 8 and contacting with a strip 85 secured on one of the uprights89. Strip 85 is connected to one pole of motor 7 the other pole of\vhichrnay be grounded. This provides simple and eliici'ent meanswhereby. the opera'tion of the varioliispar-ts of the machine, as wellas the travel ofthe machine, may be readily controlled. In use, themachine travels along thetrack parallel with the retort and is stoppedinposition with the shovels and scrapers in the vertical planes of twoadjacent series of tubes. FramesetO are then adjusted by means ofcylinder 53' and the parts associated therewith so as to raise or lowerthe shovels and the scrapers, as the case may be, and adjust the same atthe same inclination as the inclination of the tubes. After this hasbeen done, ordinarily, frame 8 is adjusted vertically so as to bring theshovels 36 into alignment with the tubes to be cleaned, after which theshovels are projected by admitting air to the cylinders 58, the shovelsbeing independently operated; As the shovel is projected intothe tube itserves to effectually scrape away from the tubeand loosen the residuumof the ore so as to thoroughly scrape and clean the inner surface of thetube. By turning member 21' by means ofcrank 31 and the partsassociated. therewith, thorough scraping and cleaning ofthe' tube isassured. After the material within the tube has been thoroughly loosenedand removed from the innerface of the tube, the shovel is withdrawnafter which frame 8 is lowered so as to bring the scraper 59' intoalignment with the tube and air is admitted to cylinder 69 at therearward end thereof thus projecting both of the scrapers into the tubeswith which the scrapers are alignedi When the scrapers are projectedinto the tubes they are in substantially horizontal position, as in Fig.3. After the scrapers have been projected into the tubes, air isadmitted to the cylinders 64 so as to pro ject' pitmans 61 turning thescrapers into substantially vertical position so that the scraping edges59 'thereof' contact with the inner surface of the lower portion of thetubes. By admitting air to the forward end of cylinder 69 and exhaustingthe, air from the rearward end of this cylinder, the scrapers arewithdrawn from the tubes and act to thoroughly scrape out or remove allof the materials which. have been previously loosened by the shovels 36.In some cases, as when using new tubes, the residuum. of the ore doesnot adhere to theinner surface of the tube so that it is not alwaysnecessary to use the shovel 36. For this reason theshovelsareindependently operative, as above noted; I have shown the machine asadapted for cleaning two tubes of adjacent series of tubes, at a time,but it will be understood that the machine can be constructed to cleanany number of tubes simultaneously desired and practicable. The materialwhich is removed from the tubes falls into an opening or pocket whichextends alongthe foundation wallof the retort closely adjacent" to theends of the tubes, this ashpocket, as it is termed, communieating with atunnel which extends beneath t h'eretort.

To protect the operator of the machine against the intense heatencountered adjacent to the retort when cleaning out the tubes, 1provide shieldsat the front and sides of-the nrachine. At each side ofthe mainframe l I provide a shield 86 0f substantially rectangularshape, this shield ineluding a plurality of superposed horizontallyextending troughs 87 so4disposed that water which flows into the topmosttrough will cascade from the top of the shield to the bottom thereof'so'that all of" the troughs are filled and a sheet of running water' isprovided extending from the top to the bottom of theshie'ldfiS'imilar'shiel'ds 88" are provided at each side of frame 8 at therearward portion thereof, and a smaller shield 89 constructed similarlyto the shields 86 is provided at the'front offrame 8, shield 89beingsupported by uprights 47. Water is supplied to the shields 8'6, 88and 89 by means of' a' pipe frame '90 mounted upon base frame 12 andprovided" with discharge nozzles positioned to discharge water into thetopmost troughs of the respective shields,;-water being supplied toframe 90; from any suitable source of supply by means of flexible hose91. Preferably, though not necessarily, I provide inclined troughs;92positioned to'receive the water discharged fronrtherespective shields,these troughs also being positioned to discharge this water at the frontof" the machine into the ash pocket previouslyreferred-to. The waterwhich flows from the front shield 89 flows overthe scrapers and theshovels and acts to-cooltlie same so as-to prevent twisting or warpingthereof.

What I" claim is 11 In a machine of the character de scribed, a mainsupporting frame, a'supplemental frame, means for adjusting saidsupplemental frame vertically in the supporting frame, shovels carriedby the supplemental frame, means for projecting and retracting saidshovels, scrapers carried by said supplemental frame, means forprojecting and retracting said scrapers, and means for adjusting thescrapers and the shovels'at an inclination.

2. Ina machine for cleaning; out the tubes ofretorts, a shovel memberadjustable into alignment with atube t'o-becl eaned, means forprojecting and retracting the shovel member and for rotating it fordetaching materials adhering to the inner surface of the tube, a scraperadjustable into alignment with the tube,means for adjusting the scraperinto substantial parallelism with the tube for insertion thereinto andfor adusting said scraper into position to extend substantiallydiametrically of the tube after the scraper has been inserted thereinto,and means for projecting and retracting said scraper for inserting itinto the tube and removing therefrom materials detached from the tube bythe shovel.

3. In a machine for cleaning out the tubes of retorts, a shovel memberadjustable into alignment with a tube tobecleaned, means for rotatingsaid shovel member and for projecting and retracting it for detachingmaterials adhering to the inner surface of the tube. a scraperadjustable into alignment with the tube, means for adjusting the scraperinto substantial parallelism with the tube and into position at an angleto the tube, means for projecting and retracting said scraper. and meansfor adjusting the shovel and the scraper vertically.

i. In a machine for cleaning out the tubes of retorts, a shovel member,a scraper disposed in vertical alignment with and parallel to the shovelmember, means for adjusting the scraper and the shovel member at aninclination to the horizontal, means for projecting and retracting theshovel member and for rotating it, and means for projecting andretracting the scraper for inserting it into a tube and withdrawingtherefrom materials which have been detachec from the inner surface ofthe tube by the shovel member.

5. In a machine for cleaning out the tubes of retorts, a shovel member,a scraper dis posed in vertical alignment withand substantially parallelto the shovel member, meansfor adjusting the shovel member and thescraper at an inclination to the horizontal, means for raising andlowering the shovel and the scraper, means for rotating the shovel andfor projecting and retracting the shovel for detaching from the innersur-' face of a tube into which the shovel is inserted materialsadhering to the tube, and means for projecting and retracting thescraper for inserting it into a tube and withdrawing therefrom materialsdetached from the tube by the shovel.

6. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a shovel'slidablysupported in the frame, means for projecting and retracting said shovel,means for turning the shovel about its longitudinal axis, a scrapermount ed adjacent to the shovel and disposed to remove from a tubematerials detached from the tube by the shovel, and means for projectingand retracting said scraper.

7. In a machine of the character described.

a frame, a shovel including a rearwardly extending shank, means forslidably supporting. said shank, a guide member mounted on the frame forturning movement about a horizontal axis, means for adjusting saidguide-member, a block slidably mounted in the guide member and connectedthereto for turning movement with said guide member, said shank beingpivoted to the block, means for adjusting said block longitudinally ofthe guide member, a scraper slidably supported in the frameadj acent toand in substantial parallelism with the shovel for removing from a tubematerials detached from.

the inner surface of the tube by the shovel, and means for projectingand retracting said scraper.

8. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a cross-headslidably mounted in the frame, means for operating said crosshead, anoperating rod secured at its inner end to the cross-head, means forslidably supporting said rod, a pitman rod, a scraper hinge. to theouter end of said pitman rod, said scraper being pivotally securedbeyond its hinge to the outer end of the operating rod, and'meanscarried by the cross-head and connected to the pitman rod for projectingand retracting the same.

9. In a machine of the character described,

a main supporting frame, a supplemental frame mounted on the main frame,means for adjusting said supplemental frame vertically in the mainframe, a block slidably mounted in thesupplemental frame, means foradjusting said blocklongitudinally of said supplemental frame, anadjusting frame carried by the supplemental frame, means for adjustingsaid adjusting frame vertically, a shovel including a shank slidablymounted thiough the adjusting frame and pivoted at its inner'end to theblock, a cross-head slidably mounted in the supplemental frame above theblock, means for operating'the cross-head, an operating rod slidablysupported through the adjusting frame and pivoted at its inner end tothe cross-head, a scraper pivoted to the outer end ofsaid rod, a pitmanrod hinged at its outer end to the scraper in rear of the pivotalconnection between the same and the operating rod, and means carried bythe cross-head and pivotally connected to the inner end of the pitmanrod for projecting and retracting the same independently of movement ofthe cross-head.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

STEVAN KovAcEvIo.

